


Hot Damn

by Laurincia



Category: Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Insecurity, M/M, Pining, Thermite needs a hug, past bullying, stupid bets, teenagers being teenagers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-13
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-17 20:58:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13667151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laurincia/pseuds/Laurincia
Summary: Mysteries and discoveries come in all shapes and sizes. This one just so happens to be a golden lighter.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally planned to be one whole chapter but uh... got really long really quickly, so it'll be chaptered out because I really want to post it
> 
> Hurray to these two nerds cause I love Thermite and kinda hate Pulse (ish)
> 
> The behavior in the story might not match up with real-life high school seniors, but it kinda fits with what I'm trying to go for

High school was lame. Nearly everyone could confirm it. Jack was sitting in his unassigned assigned seat in Mr. Baker’s classroom, waiting for class to start. He muffled a yawn in the crook of his elbow and lay his head down on the desk, closing his eyes.

Mr. Baker woke up Jack with two gentle knocks on his desk. Jack groaned and checked the clock. Class just barely started. Jack yawned again and sat up, rubbing his eyes. Eliza had her head on her desk as well. She was staring blankly forward, chewing her pink bubblegum, occasionally blowing a bubble. The door to the classroom was open, but someone still knocked. Mr. Baker finished writing a word on the board and told whoever to come in. “I apologize for bein’ late,” the kid said. Jack hadn’t seen him around before.  
“You must be Jordan, welcome,” Mr. Baker smiled. “Take a seat.”  
He was a short, lanky kid with dark shaggy hair. The southern accent he harbored was obvious. The kid walked over to Jack and sat down in the seat next to his. Jack noticed that he had bandages wrapped around both his arms, nearly to the elbows. He must have stared a little too long because the kid glanced over and gave Jack a small smile. Jack snapped his attention back to Mr. Baker talking about something historical until he zoned out a few minutes later.

The next class was math. Nothing interesting there, just numbers and shapes that eventually all jumbled together to create some sort of number monster in Jack’s brain. Luckily, Mr. Long wasn’t as strict as other teachers and actually managed to be quite chill. He joked around, and occasionally cursed in class. He was pretty cool.

Foreign languages was next, with Mrs. Bosak. “Alright, you little kurwas, who’s the most famous Polish writer?” She asked.  
“We aren’t even in Poland!” Someone shouted.  
“You fail.”  
A Russian student, Maxim, raised his hand. “Tolstoy,” he said.  
Mrs. Bosak sighed heavily and facepalmed. The other Russian (Uzbek, if you want to get technical) in the class snickered. The class phone started ringing and she excused herself to answer the call. She shuffled some papers on her desk before picking something up. “I need someone to go down to metalworks.” Jack instantly raised his hand. Mrs. Bosak walked over and handed him a hall pass and a phone. “Imagawa’s class in the basement.” Jack nodded and swiftly left the class. He shoved the items into his hoodie pocket and walked to the only stairwell that leads to the basement on the south side of the school. He took his sweet time, walking at a moderate pace, and eventually found himself in front of Ms. Imagawa’s classroom. He knocked on the closed door before opening it. Students were in various groups, sketching out projects. Ms. Imagawa was talking to a student with green tinted welding goggles resting on his forehead. “But if you have a remote detonator inside the pellet with a charge, you wouldn’t have to light it by hand.” The southern drawl was familiar.  
Ms. Imagawa nodded and said some engineering things while pointing at a blueprint. Jack made himself known by calling out to her. She turned around and smiled, taking the phone from Jack. “Thank you for returning my phone to me, Masaru was trying to be funny again,” she chuckled before walking over to some other students.  
“Nice seein’ ya again,” Jordan greeted, smiling.  
Jack never noticed that his eyes almost looked like ice, never mind the horrible lighting in the basement. He nodded in response. “How you liking school here so far?” Jack asked.  
Jordan leaned against the table, picking at the bandages on his arms. His expression was somber, almost mourning. “It’s great, the people here are nice.”

English passed quickly, and lunch came. Jack sat with his friends at their usual table, all gossiping about something or other. Today's gossip; who is the biggest DILF. Elias tried staying out of the conversation, only merely suggesting people. “Mr. Baker,” Elias asked after asking about the school’s resident doctor/nurse.  
“He’s old though!” Monika complained.  
“Technically everyone working at this school is decades older than us!” Jack argued.  
“Well, I mean…” Eliza started. Her tone definitely suggested something.  
Mark coughed and stared at her, dumbfounded. “What?!”  
“What?” Eliza repeated. “He’s kinda okay.”  
Jack tried not to mention anything about the lingering and longing stares between Mr. Baker and Seamus the security guard.  
“Alright, you want to know who is ‘okay’?” Monika asked, using air quotes.  
Everyone was silent, waiting for her to continue.  
“Mr. Ramirez.”  
Emmanuelle ‘oohed’ and leaned back in her chair. “Now that, I can agree with.”  
Jack met Elias’ gaze. He didn’t even need to try to read the German’s expression. ‘Why are we talking about this,’ was written all over his face. Jack just shrugged. Elias picked up his empty paper plate and stood up. “You just like him for his face,” he teased.  
Eliza rolled her eyes. “No, there’s definitely something else.”  
“What’s that?” Elias asked.  
Eliza smirked and smacked Elias’ butt. The German yelped in response and threw a nearby apple at Eliza. She blocked the flying fruit and laughed. “He’s got a great ass.”  
Elias sighed and quickly threw away his garbage.  
“Hey, what about the new kid?” Emmanuelle asked.  
Mark crumbled up his milk carton and glanced over at the small French girl. “Jordan?”  
Emmanuelle nodded.  
“He’s cute,” Monika said. “Real polite.”  
Jordan actually is kinda cute, nice features, a gentle smile, and those bright, stone blue eyes.  
“Does anyone know what happened to his arms?” Mark asked.  
“I heard he got burned,” Emmanuelle whispered, leaning forward on the table.  
“Poor guy,” Elias muttered.

Mr. Porter’s science class was entertaining, to say the least. Within the first few minutes of class starting, something had already caught on fire. The fire wasn’t surprising, considering Mr. Porter’s track record of wreaking havoc on school grounds. So much so, that the fire alarm had to be removed in his classroom, and there had to be at least three fire extinguishers and blankets in the room at all times. Jack spotted Jordan in the back of the class by himself, reserved and quiet. When the fire broke out, he instantly became interested in what was happening around him, eyes focused on the flame with an expression of awe. Mr. Porter managed to smother the flames in time before the entire class caught fire and took a deep breath, chuckling nervously. “Well, partner up in twos for a project, everyone, we’re going to be doing projects about corpses!” Mr. Porter clapped his hands together, grinning. Everyone got into their groups while Jack sat still at his desk, tapping out a one, one-two rhythm on the black table. Jordan walked up to him with a nervous smile on his face. “Care to be my partner? I-I don’t know anyone else in the class,” he muttered.  
“Yeah, I’m honored to be your partner.” _‘What the hell am I saying?’_  
Jordan chuckled. “I’m glad.”

They chose their project on decomposition, studying the various ways and stages that a corpse could decompose. The poor animals that would have to die for the project to be mice. The deadline was a week later. Jordan decided that they would get through the project faster if they went to each other's houses after school for more work time. Jack agreed and texted his mom if he could go to Jordan’s house after school. Permission was granted and the two exchanged contact information. They arranged to meet in the front of the school to wait for Jordan’s brother.

The rest of the day flew by, and Jack was out the front doors waiting for Jordan. Anxiety was starting to set in when a few minutes had passed, and the Texan was nowhere to be seen. Maybe he forgot, maybe something came up, maybe he was just being paranoid. Another minute passed and Jack sighed, sticking his hands into his pockets and started to walk back to the school. “Jack!” Someone yelled. Jack stopped in his tracks and turned around to see Jordan running up to him. “I apologize for makin’ you wait so long, I hope you can forgive me,” Jordan apologized. His expression was full of guilt.  
Jack chuckled. “It’s alright, don’t worry about it.”  
“You sure? Cause you seem pretty bummed,” Jordan frowned. Those stone blue eyes bore into his soul.  
Nodding, Jack smiled. “Yeah, it’s fine.”  
The other hummed and dragged Jack along to an old, mint green Ford pickup truck. He swung open the passenger door and tossed in his backpack, before opening the back door, letting Jack get into the truck before getting in himself. “So you’re the kid that my little brother’s friends with,” the driver chuckled. He slung an arm over the passenger seat and looked back to the two. He bore some similarities to Jordan, short brown hair, stubble. He had the same face shape, even nose, although his eyes were darker.  
“Heck off, Michael,” Jordan muttered.  
_‘Heck? How cute.’_  
Michael let out a hearty laugh. “You’re adorable, still refusing to curse. You’re old enough, mom won’t care  _too_ much, you're a senior for fuck's sake!"   
“Heck off!” Jordan said with more force. He tried to be fierce but failed soon after the words left his mouth. He fell back into his seat, grinning as Michael drove away from the school. “Anyway, that moron is my brother, Michael,” Jordan introduced, throwing a crumpled up piece of paper at Michael after he tipped an imaginary fedora at Jack through the rear-view mirror.  
Jack took it upon himself to introduce himself.

They arrived at a decently sized house, with a dark gray minivan parked in the driveway. Michael clapped his hands together and turned off the engine. “Well, here we are, boys. I’ll just say this now, we have a family of hoarders, and Jordan’s room is a huge mess,” Michael warned. He raised an eyebrow before cracking a smile.  
“Michael,” Jordan groaned, pushing open the door. Jack followed.  
“Clean your damn room!” Michael yelled. Jordan slammed the car door after Jack got out of the truck and lead him to the front door with a wide smile on his face. “He ain't kiddin', house is a mess,” Jordan nervously chuckled.  
“I’m sure it’s not that bad,” Jack stated, studying the house. Nice cream colored panels covered the sides of the house, along with a stone blue shingle roof and window accents. It looked like a nice house.  
Jordan grimaced and opened the mahogany colored door. Immediately, a large gray pit bull ran through the halls of the house and pounced on Jordan, knocking him to the ground and started licking his face. Michael ran out of his truck and pulled the dog off. “Kermit no! We don’t eat our family!” The dog barked and ran around Michael before circling around Jack’s legs. Chuckling, Jack pet the dog’s head. “Kermit?” He criticized.  
“I was three when I named him.” Jordan sat up and held out his arms. Kermit ran back to Jordan, tail wagging sporadically. Jordan kissed Kermit on the muzzle before shooing him inside. Michael had already gone inside. Jordan paused and kept his gaze fixed on Jack with a soft expression. Jack met his stare. Stone eyes were slowly turning brighter, more vibrant. He had always thought that hazel eyes were the best. Jordan hopped off the ground and dusted himself off, smiling widely. “We should head inside.”  
Jack snapped out of his trance and nodded, following silently.

Jordan’s parents were nice, they were outgoing and caring. The house itself was nice too, quiet, good lighting. Stacks of old magazines, stuffed animals among various other things. Jack had talked with the family for a while, learning the basics. They came from Plano in Texas. Carol worked as a part-time nurse and volunteered in many community services, often dragging along Michael and Jordan. Scott worked as a mechanic downtown. There were plenty of pictures in and around the house. On top of the mantel was a picture of Michael in Marine dress blues. Next to it was a smaller, older photo of Jordan with someone else. The other kid’s face was scratched out and burned. “Are you boys going to need anything for your project?” Carol asked as the two started heading upstairs. Jordan stopped and thought for a moment.  
“Can you get some mice?” He asked innocently.  
Carol looked at them quizzically. “Why on earth do you need mice?”  
“Project, duh,” Jordan laughed.  
“Yeah, but why mice?”  
“Would you rather it be human?” Jack piped up.  
“What are you two even studying?” Michael asked, trying to pull a rope toy from Kermit’s jaws.  
“Decomposition,” Jack deadpanned.  
“Ma, the fewer questions the better, get them the mice,” Michael stated.  
Carol sighed and shrugged. “Alright, I’ll see what I can do.”  
“Thanks, ma!” Jordan grinned. He gestured for Jack to follow him up the rest of the stairs and into his room. He simmered down and stood in the center of his room, quiet. “I really appreciate you takin’ your time for this,” Jordan whispered. “No one back home really bothered with me. They called me names, attacked me, all that.” He turned around and stared at Jack with a sad smile. His fingers started pulling at the bandages wrapped around his hands. “Thank you.”  
Jack’s heart swelled. “Whoever they are, I will punch their shit in.”  
Jordan chuckled. “No need for that, they’re out of my life now. Thank you anyway.”

There really was no reason for Jack to go over to Jordan’s house, but he did. They spent the time they had together barely researching the effects of decomposition on various cadavers, instead, they just talked. “Who is the worst teacher?” Jordan asked. At some point, Kermit had found his way into Jordan’s room with a blue bone about the size of Jack’s hand.  
Jack made an uncertain face. “Teaching wise, attitude wise or just overall worst?”  
Jordan shrugged. “All?”  
“Well to be completely honest, Mr. Porter doesn’t really teach, he just lets everything roll. Attitude wise, probably Mrs. Bosak. Constantly referred to as a bitch, loud, and angry,” Jack explained his reasonings. He chuckled as Kermit ran around Jordan before flopping over between the two.  
Jordan hummed and nodded.  
“As for ‘worst,’ you’re going to get a lot of different answers depending on who you ask.”  
“Examples?” Rubbed Kermit’s belly and lightly tossed the bone across the room. Kermit was upright in a second and bounded after the toy.  
Jack clicked his tongue and scribbled something down onto the large poster paper they had next to them. “Well most would probably say Mr. Baker, dull, boring, occasionally an asshole, all that.”  
“I heard he spikes his tea with scotch,” Jordan piped up. Kermit ran back with the bone, dropped it in Jack’s lap and let out a soft ‘bork.’ Smiling, Jack rubbed Kermit’s head and tossed the bone into a corner of Jordan’s room.  
“Who knows, he just might. Not surprising given the kids he has to deal with on a daily basis,” Jack muttered. He glanced down at his phone when it vibrated. It was a text from Eliza.  
“What stage of decomposition do you think is the most interesting?” Jordan asked.  
_‘I have a proposition ;)),’_ the text read.  
“Probably active decay,” he responded. He texted Eliza asking about the ‘proposition.’  
_‘You know about Mr. Baker’s… fondness for tea right?’_  
_‘...yeah’_  
_‘If I win, you’re doing something embarrassing, if you win, I’ll do something embarrassing’’_  
_‘I ain’t agreeing to shit until I know what it is, demon’_  
_‘You know how Mr. Porter doesn’t like said tea but still drinks it?’_  
_‘Where are you going with this’_  
_‘We’re going to steal the tea and see what Mr. Porter does, will he recommend another or buy the same one for Mr. Baker?’_  
_‘Why’_  
_‘Because the power of love, idiot!’_  
Jack must have made some sort of noise akin to screaming on the inside, but actually using your vocal cords instead of your brain because Jordan looked at him strangely.  
“Everythin’ alright?” The Texan asked. His eyes were wide and he had his head tilted slightly.  
“Yeah, a friend is being stupid, that’s all.”  
Jordan chuckled. “Understandable.” He looked slightly dejected for a split second.  
“I could introduce you to them,” Jack blurted out before he could think.  
Jordan was silent. He didn’t say anything. He just stared at Jack with a shocked expression, but that shock soon turned to joy. “I don’t know what to say, I thank you for taking time to deal with me.”  
It was a bittersweet moment. Jack was happy that Jordan had accepted his proposal that he put zero thought into, but a thought kept making itself known. Had Jordan really never had any sort of companionship throughout his life? His phrasing seems over the top as if he was deliberately trying to make himself appear friendly, and approachable, even. Jack currently didn’t know, but he was determined to find out, to give the Texan some semblance of happiness in his life. Was it stupid and rushed? Probably.

They ended just sitting on the floor, talking instead of working on the project. Jack had told Jordan everything he needed to know about his friends, various students, the teachers, the school itself, even throwing in some fun facts about himself, like how he has an obnoxious habit of psychoanalyzing people. Jordan listened quietly, taking the information in. Turns out, the ‘quiet, adorable new kid’ could be quite energetic and loud, given the right circumstances. He loved anything having to do with fire, but was more reserved about it than other things. He had a collection of old Zippo lighters underneath his bed in a simple wood box that was beautifully crafted. The corners and edges were sanded smooth, with only the slightest bevel. It was stained a dark oak, with lighter zebra stripes running over the length of the box. A small divot was carved out in the center for the top to be opened easier. Jordan took out a gold Zippo lighter and lightly ran his thumb over the side. It was shiny, well worn. The engravings were still visible but rubbed down. A prized lighter in a box of many. Jordan flicked open the cap with a hollow clink, pulling down the flint wheel to make a small flame. Jack couldn’t see the patterns on the casing, but it was a familiar type of engraving, flowing leaves, sprouting from one point, curling and twisting outward. Jordan’s hands started shaking and he closed the cap, carefully placing the lighter back into the wooden box. A pyromaniac, no doubt. He had always suspected that those bandages on his hands were covering burns. He’s seen the aftermaths of burns before, scorched and drying skin, turning pink, scarring to form intricate patterns, like the engraving on Jordan’s prized lighter. Jack didn’t ask any questions about his life in Texas. He could tell that Jordan was thankful for it, but something happened. Something made his family come here. Something made him the way he is now.

Jack’s father had picked him up from Jordan’s house a little before dinner. The usual questions were asked, the ‘how was it, did you enjoy your stay,’ those questions. Jack said that it was time well spent, that he enjoyed Jordan’s company. It was a good day.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really wished I was able to completely finish this in time for Valentine's day, but knowing my track record of procrastination, it's impossible, so take chapter two <3

History with Mr. Baker had to be one of the most boring subjects if the British teacher never had any interesting stories to tell that always somehow ended up tying together with the subject they were talking about. This time, the subject in question is the Battle of Goose Green. Mr. Baker pulled up a picture onto the projector and clapped his hands, waking everyone up who was about to fall asleep. “Who can tell me about  the Battle of Goose Green?” He asked, twirling a dry erase marker in his fingers. 

“They killed green geese,” someone in towards the back of the room called out. 

Mr. Baker let out a dry laugh and rolled his eyes. “I never understand how you brats are passing,” he muttered to no one in particular while pinching the bridge of his nose. 

Jordan looked up from his paper he was doodling on and looked over at the picture displayed on the screen. “It was a fight between Argentina and Britain.”

Mr. Baker looked at the Texan with a slight expression of surprise. “Correct.” Jordan’s expression softened and he returned to his doodling with a small smile on his face. 

 

After the lecture and the long series of note taking, Eliza slipped into the empty seat next to Jack. She had a shit eating grin on her face and tapped the desk with a pencil. 

“Is there something you need, demon?” Jack asked, glancing over at her.

She chuckled. “That thing I asked you yesterday?”

“Your stupid bet?” 

“Well I  _ could _ make another bet,” she muttered. She turned her focus to Jordan and smiled, sticking out her hand for a handshake. “Hi! Since Jack won’t introduce me, I’m Eliza!” 

Jordan looked up from his doodling, surprised. “Me?” 

“Yes, you,” Eliza confirmed. 

Jordan looked speechless and hesitantly shook her hand. “I-I’m Jordan.” 

“Aww, you’re adorable,” she chuckled. She turned to face Jack and winked. 

Frowning, Jack wondered what she wanted. Normally, she’d keep more to herself, even though she’s one of the most extroverted people Jack knows. “Are you sick or something?” Jack asked. 

“Why are you so against me being here?” She asked, leaning back in her chair.

“I’m curious about your intentions,” Jack deadpanned.

She scoffed. “Can’t you just psychoanalyze me? Anyway, I’m here cause I want you to accept the bet.” 

“The tea thing?” 

“It doesn’t  _ have _ to be the tea thing.” Her smirk was suspicious.

“What’s the other thing?” Jack asked. Depending on what the ‘the other thing’ was, he just might take the bet. After all, it would be an amazing sight to see Eliza do something ‘embarrassing.’ 

“Maybe try to talk shit to Emmanuelle. If you survive, I’ll do an embarrassing thing. If you don’t, then you have to.” 

Jack narrowed his eyes, studying Eliza, who was trying to look innocent. “What’s this ‘thing’?” Jordan had stopped doodling to listen in on their conversation, looking mildly confused. 

She shrugged. “Haven’t gotten that far yet. We can make the stakes now.” 

He thought about it. On one hand, it would be hilarious to see Eliza do a thing that qualifies as ‘embarrassing,’ but on the other, it could backfire and bite him in the ass. He turned to Jordan, who just shrugged in response. “Fine. If I lose, you have to scream every hour at the top of your lungs and kiss the scariest bitch in the school,” Jack offered. Basic? Most likely, but it would be hilarious. 

Eliza sighed and facepalmed. “You boys and your lesbian fetishes. Fine.” She sneered. Red flags and alarms started sounding in Jack’s head, telling him to abort mission. “You,” she started, poking him in the arm with the pencil’s eraser, “are going to have to wear a cheerleading costume to school. The female ones.” 

_ ‘This was a mistake.’ _

 

Surprisingly, the, strangely enough, illness resilient Mr. Long was out sick, and thus, foreign languages was next. Mrs. Bosak spent her time giving lectures in Polish, along with yelling at students before Mr. Ramirez decided to drop by and suggest Mrs. Bosak go outside for a breather. He was a popular teacher among the ranks of students, a good teacher overall, pretty calm and chill. His ‘stunning good looks’ makes him a must for the female students. Jack never really judged for himself as he has never taken a good, long look at the Spaniard, but yeah. He could see it. 

Elias was sitting next to him, burning a hole through his paper by drawing a circle in the same place, running it over with the pencil numerous times. “You good?” He whispered when Mr. Ramirez started answering a question about his life in Spain. 

“Yeah,” Elias muttered. “When are you going to do the bet?” He asked, looking over at Jack with a smirk on his face. 

“That demon told everyone?!” He wailed. Jack frantically glanced around to see if anyone heard. 

“No, only a few people,” Elias chuckled. 

“A  _ few _ few or a few hundred?” Jack decided it would be a good idea to ask for clarification. 

“Only our friend group,” he grinned. “Can’t wait to see you in a cheerleading uniform.” 

“I’m going to win this bet, just you wait.” 

Elias raised a brow. “She may be tiny, but she can and will kick your ass.” 

“Glad to know you have faith in me,” Jack muttered. 

The German chuckled. “I’ll support you silently.” 

Jack scoffed. “Thanks, I guess.” 

Elias hummed and drew a cat face in the circle. “Eliza wants you to do it during lunch.” 

Jack just groaned and put his head in his hands. 

 

Lunch came around and Jack made his way to their normal table, where Emmanuelle, Eliza, and Elias were sitting. The rest of the group was either waiting in line or going somewhere off campus to eat. Regardless, he had to do it, for honor. He plonked his food down on the table and pulled back the chair, quickly throwing Eliza an angry stare. “Hey, Manny, how’s the weather down there?” Jack asked in a teasing tone. Silence fell over their table as Emmanuelle stared at him with a seemingly calm demeanor and a creepy smile on her face. 

“What was that?” She asked sweetly. 

Elias tried to discreetly scoot his chair further away from the tiny French woman while Eliza was hiding her grin by taking a sip from her milk carton. Every fiber of Jack’s being was screaming at him to pull back. “Hey,  _ Manny _ ,” he emphasized. “How’s the weather  _ down there _ ? I assume cold? Like your soul?”

She laid her hands down on the table. “I will give you…” she tapped her fingers on the table. “Five seconds, to run away, before I rip your dick off and shove it down your throat.” Jack didn’t even hesitate to start running, knocking over his chair along with nearly crashing into a group of people. He didn’t look back, but he knew Emmanuelle was following close. She’s friends with  _ Julien Nizan _ , for fuck's sake, constantly joining him on his daily runs. Because of Eliza’s stupid bet, he now has an angry French gremlin chasing after him around the cafeteria. He sprinted to the doors to the locker rooms, pushing them open, only looking back for a few seconds to see if Emmanuelle was still following. He turned his attention back to where he was running and came to a screeching halt, crashing into what felt like a brick wall. “Shit!” he yelled, regaining his balance. It was Julien, looking only mildly alarmed before he cringed. “You did it, didn’t you?” He asked. 

_ ‘Damn you, Eliza.’ _ “Yes.” 

Julien chuckled, placing a hand on Jack’s shoulder. “I wish you the best of luck in surviving your punishment, for the bet, and from Emmanuelle.” Julien’s smile seemed so genuine, Jack almost forgot that he was one of the people that would stand with the evil French gremlin in a heartbeat. 

  
  


Jack survived.  _ Barely. _ The second he walked through the doors of Mr. Porter's science room, he got strange looks from Mr. Porter and Jordan. “You did it?” Jordan asked when Jack sat down next to him. He lightly touched the bruise forming on his cheek and nodded. 

“Needless to say, I failed. She’s tiny but she kicks ass,” Jack murmured. He pulled out his notes for the project and set them down on the table. 

“Are you gonna go through with it?” 

Taking a deep breath, Jack cracked his knuckles. “Kinda have to. In some instances, Eliza can be scarier than Emmanuelle. Besides, I could just wear clothes over it.” 

Jordan chuckled. “Well, she never specified if other people would be able to  _ see _ you wearing it.” 

“Exactly.” 

 

Jordan called him that night, saying that his mom managed to get some mice from a friend. (He said that the friend had a couple pythons.) They already decided to conduct the experiment in different ‘environments,’ buried in soil, drenched in water, among other things.  _ “I uh… heard prom’s commin’ up,” _ Jordan muttered. Jack could hear him telling Kermit to do something on the other line. 

“Yeah, in a few months,” Jack confirmed. He scribbled down some numbers for homework. 

“ _ I’ve never really been, is it any fun?” _

Jack chuckled, plugging in his earbuds into his phone. “Can’t really give you an answer for that, never my kind of thing.” 

_ “Really? Would have thought that people would be clamorin’ all over ya.” _

“You have too much faith in me, I'm a pretty hardcore hidden nerd.”

_ “How so?” _

“Biochemistry, psychology, all that. Some people think I’m ‘creepy,’” Jack explained. 

_ “You’re not creepy,” _ Jordan muttered. He yelled at Kermit to stop and drop something before returning with an exasperated sigh.  _ “I hate to ask this, but is it alright if the mice stay at your place? I’m afraid that Kermit would eat them.”  _ His tone was apologetic, guilty even. 

“I can ask but I’m sure it’s fine, wouldn’t want your dog getting sick now.” 

Jordan hummed.  _ “What are you plannin’ to do after school?” _

Jack thought for a moment. “Maybe some form of military.” 

_ “I’m thinkin’ of goin’ to the Marines, ya know? Like my brother.” _

“Well whatever you decide to do, I’m sure you’ll be great at it.” 

 

“You’re fucking crazy!” Jack shouted, exasperated. 

Eliza crossed her arms and stared at him with a disappointed look. “You agreed to it.” 

Meghan shoved the white bag containing the outfit into his arms. “It’s just a cheerleading uniform, nothing strange about it!” She was too cheery about this for her own good. 

Jack glanced over to Craig and Elias, hoping for support. 

Craig just shrugged, saying that he deserved it, while Elias agreed. Jack groaned loudly and walked into the bathroom. He made sure to wear semi comfortable clothing so no one would be able to  _ see _ him wear the damn thing. They would just see an oversized hoodie with black track pants (and shorts.) He walked into an open stall and made sure to loudly slam it shut. He opens the bad and stared at the lump of fabric. Dark blues mixed with lighter shades and gold highlights. He took it out the bag and held it in front of him. It looked big enough for him, just  _ barely _ . He took a deep breath and stripped. 

 

It was tight, the fabric hugged his torso, arms,  _ everything _ . He exited the stall and cracked open the bathroom door, quietly peeking out. Jordan was there, talking to Eliza. She noticed that Jack was peeking around the door and squealed, grabbing Jordan and turned his head to face Jack. He took it as his cue to slip back into the bathroom but Craig kicked the door back, almost hitting Jack. “Dude, what the fuck?” Jack yelled. All five stared at him with a mixture of shock, awe, and embarrassment. Jack could feel his face heating up and looked away, staring at the white tiled walls instead of the faces of his friends. He could feel Jordan’s gaze burning a hole through him and reluctantly met the Texan’s stare. Stone blue eyes slowly turned sky. 

 

They had all protested when Jack put on his clothes over the cheerleading outfit, but Jordan stated that it was never specified that other people would have to see it, just that he had to wear it to school. Eliza and Meghan reluctantly agreed to let Jack cover up, but not before taking as many pictures as humanly possible before he slipped back into the bathroom. 

 

Jordan had handed him the box of materials from the back of his brother’s truck after school ended and quickly explained the basics of what he had already done and what needed to be done. Jack listened and nodded, rummaging around the box. Clear plastic containers were half filled with dirt, one held water and some were empty. “You sure your parents are alright with this? Rotting flesh ain’t the most pleasant smellin’ thing in the world,” Jordan asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“Yeah, I’ll take care of it,” Jack reassured with a smile. 

Jordan nodded and hopped into the passenger seat of Michael’s truck, rolling down the window. “Oh yeah, nice legs,” he grinned. Michael drove off with a confused look before Jack could even react. 

 

No one else outside their friend group really realized that Jack had changed out and wore a cheerleading uniform under his actual clothes. Eliza took the initiative to send pictures to everyone in the group chat they had formed in sophomore year. Jack promptly removed and blocked her from the chat after deleting all the evidence. Meghan and invited Jordan to the chat. 

 

“Howdy,” Jordan greeted Jack when he walked into Mr. Baker’s classroom barely two seconds after the bell rang. It was too early for this. 

“Hey.” Jack returned the greeting and sat down in his seat. 

“Everythin’ alright?” Jordan asked. His head was slightly cocked to the side, gaze fixed on Jack. 

“Yeah, just super tired,” Jack muttered, trying to suppress a yawn. 

“Couldn’t sleep?”

Jack shrugged and laid his head down on the desk. “Somethin’ like that.” Truth is, he stayed up all night cramming for a psychology test. 

“You doin’ anythin’ after school?” Jordan asked. He was fiddling with the bandages wrapped around his hands and started fidgeting. He couldn’t look Jack in the eyes. 

“No, not really, why?” Jack turned his head to look at the Texan. 

“Would you like to hang out? Like uhh… go to the mall or something.”    
Jack thought for a moment. “Yeah, I’m down.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Next chapter will be up soon(?)
> 
> The texts are a bit wonky because it won't let me align right without throwing the entire thing over, but I'll fix it when I get to a better computer


End file.
